The central office of the international organization in Geneva closely follows the situation with the hunger strike of a political prisoner Alyaksandr Kazulin in Belarus and is concerned over his state of health. As the press-service of Alyaksandr Kazulin informs, today the International Red Cross has addressed the Foreign Ministry of Belarus with a request to visit Alyaksandr Kazulin.
Russia is imposing an oil export duty for Belarus at $180.70 per metric ton as of January 2007, the government said Tuesday. Russia has sought to prevent losses being inflicted on its budget from crude supplies to its ex-Soviet neighbor. Belarus, with which Russia is creating a union, refines oil and re-exports it to third countries, paying no taxes to the Russian budget.
“The decision of Russian government to repeal of benefits on oil imported to Belarus means the end of investment support of the Belarusian regime. Belarus is to lose about 3 billion dollars. It means that a recently adopted Belarusian budget is a mere formality, and it needs to be revised. The whole model of Lukashenka’s economic policy has reached its maximum. Belarus is facing an acute problem of the Belarusian ruble’s exchange rate stability. The Belarusian ruble can become cheap noticeably before a possible loss of hard currency proceeds,” told a well-known economist Yaraslau Ramanchuk, commenting on the decision of the Russian government to cancelling benefits in oil trade with Belarus.
A former political prisoner Syarhei Skrabets, who has carried out hunger strikes of protest in prison many times, believes that Alyaksandr Kazulin wouldn’t be able to restore his health in the conditions of the prison after 53 days of the hunger strike. “He never was on a hunger strike before, that is why any crisis situations are possible. It is impossible to restore health in prison completely. I haven’t repaired my health after hunger strikes, though I am at large for a few weeks already. There are no necessary experts and doctors in the colony. Kazulin would be able to transit from a hunger strike to normal routine for about a month and a half. We have brought to him oats, and there are vegetables in prison diet. It is hard to say what will follow. It is clear that we must demand his release,” Syarhei Skrabets said in an interview to the Chartyer’97 press-center.
Today at 1 p.m. Belarusian time a Russian service of the Euronews TV Channel hasn’t broadcasted live the annual award-giving ceremony of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, as announced. At 1.30 p.m. it was announced that “live broadcasting was not taking place because of a strike of technical staff”. The reasons for the strike haven’t been revealed. Only a part of Milinkevich’s speech was demonstrated, but the words of Milinkevich in Belarusian were blocked by the words in Russian by an announcer voice-over.
A political prisoner Alyaksandr Kazulin confirmed in a phone talk with his wife Iryna that he had stopped the hunger strike. “He intakes oat jelly and juice. His voice is energetic, and he says he feels well. He added it’s wonderful to feel life returning into your body,” Radio Svaboda was told by Iryna Kazulina.
On December 8 a letter from Internal Affairs department of Tsentralny district of Minsk was received by the office of a Protestant Church “New Life”. The letter read that the church had been denied initiation of criminal case against a journalist L. Dzhuraeva, an author of TV items about the church “New Life” at the TV channel on October 14 and 15, 2006, and against persons who had been interviewed in those TV items, the head of the department of religions and nationalities of Minsk city executive committee Ala Rabitsava (Ryabitseva) and a candidate of science (history) I. Janushkevich, for “absence of essential element of offence”.
Belarusian opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich said Monday he was sure the totalitarian ex-Soviet republic would become democratic in two years, despite a campaign of intimidation by President Alexander Lukashenko. Milinkevich said that even though Lukashenko has clamped down on dissidents and students, the demonstrations against his regime will not stop. "There is a problem in today`s Belarus: the authorities are doing everything they can to intimidate people, not only imprisoning them, but firing them from jobs, from school ... But I don`t think fear prevails, young people demonstrating are not afraid of the KGB anymore," Milinkevich told European Union lawmakers a day before he was to receive the Sakharov Prize, the EU`s top human rights award names after one of the best known former Soviet dissidents.
The administration of the colony “Vitsba-3” states that the former candidate for presidency in Belarus, a political prisoner Alyaksandr Kazulin can meet with a lawyer. The Charter’97 press-center has been informed about that by the wife of the political prisoner, Iryna Kazulina, who talked on the phone with a deputy director of the colony, Ruslan Pryjmak.
A former political prisoner Syarhei Skrabets does not exclude that Alyaksandr Kazulin has been forced to finish the hunger strike. He underlines that on December 11 Kazulin’s wife hasn’t been allowed not only to see her husband, but even to speak on the phone with him. “Could there be any problems could be if Kazulin had really written a statement that he finishes the hunger strike?” Syarhei Skrabets noted in an interview to the UCP press-service. “Just give him one minute to confirm to his wife on the phone: “Everything is alright, I am finishing the hunger strike”. Why all this tension? Who needs this circus?”
Today in Strasbourg at a session of the European Parliament an award-giving ceremony of the 2006 Sakharov prize for Freedom of Thought to the leader of the democratic forces of Belarus Alyaksandr Milinkevich is to take place. According to the deputies of the European parliament, giving the award to the leader of the Belarusian opposition has become a “definite signal” for Lukashenka that the EU “hasn’t forgotten about the situation in Belarus”. The award-giving ceremony is to start at 1 p.m. Minsk time. After receiving a prize Alyaksandr Milinkevich is to address the meeting.
News agencies with reference to administration of the corrective labour Vitsba-3, that the former candidate for presidency, a political prisoner Alyaksandr Kazulin finished the hunger strike. His wife Iryna Kazulina feels suspicious bout this news. “I do not trust these reports completely. I have travelled 600 km today to meet my husband; however I haven’t been allowed to meet with him. Only after I returned to Minsk, it was reported that he finished the hunger strike. Was it impossible to let me speak to him at least on the phone? I doubt that Alyaksandr has finished the hunger strike himself, it is possible that he had been forced to. However, I would be happy if my husband would have finished the hunger strike,” Iryna Kazulina said in an interview to the press-centre of the Charter’97.
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